Other Startups

Nikita Bier, who previously sold his viral high school app TBH to Facebook for $40-100 million, launched a new app called Crush designed to replicate that success with a monetization twist. The app uses a $6.99 weekly subscription ($28/month) model to reveal who voted for you in anonymous polls, and was geofenced to specific high schools in Georgia and Alabama. The app went viral within its targeted high school networks but faced controversy with rumors of misuse, leading to app store takedowns and rebranding efforts.

Kate (Amaranth) is the #1 creator on OnlyFans, earning $30M+ on the platform in just two years (April 2020 onwards). She built a sophisticated media empire with a 5-person core team plus extended staff, then expanded into Real Work—an agency offering virtual assistance services to other OnlyFans creators. Her growth was driven by leveraging an existing Twitch and Patreon audience, strategic use of earned media when her Instagram was banned, and continuous optimization of conversion tactics across multiple platforms.

Blueprint is Brian Johnson's publicly documented personal health experiment aimed at reversing biological aging faster than chronological aging progresses. Johnson, the bootstrapped founder of Braintree (sold to PayPal for ~$800M) and early Venmo investor, launched Blueprint as an open-source health protocol shared via blog and data, applying his system-thinking approach to human longevity and achieving measurable physical transformation through data-driven nutrition, exercise, and biometric tracking.

Billy McFarland, infamous for the failed Fyre Festival, is attempting a comeback with Pyrate, a platform that hosts small groups (6-15 people) on private island adventures while livestreaming experiences to virtual audiences who can interact and influence real-world events in real-time. The venture aims to generate revenue through micro-transactions (e.g., $0.20 per action) from millions of virtual viewers, with aspirations to exceed the Bahamas' annual tourism numbers through virtual attendance.

Mad Realities is a media company founded by young creators (including a former NYU student) that produces original TikTok shows. In their first month, they launched multiple shows including "Buying Time" (14M views, 2M likes on one show with a $2,100 budget) and "Keep the Meter Running" (2.4M likes). The company demonstrates viral growth potential through organic TikTok engagement, though monetization strategy remains unclear.

PRIME is an energy drink launched by Logan Paul and KSI that achieved $250 million in retail sales in its first year (2022), with $110 million in wholesale revenue to the company. The brand rapidly became a major player in the beverage market through retail distribution at major chains like Walmart, demonstrating explosive traction despite the founders' limited involvement in business operations.

Missouri Star Quilting Company is a bootstrapped, family-owned e-commerce business co-founded by Al Doad and his mom Jenny that generates nine figures in annual revenue. The company started when Al's mom discovered a six-month waitlist for machine quilting services, leading Al to buy a machine and launch a service business. Growth accelerated dramatically when they launched a YouTube channel featuring Jenny teaching quilting (now nearly 1M subscribers) and implemented a daily deal strategy inspired by Woot.com, combined with turning their manufacturing facilities into a tourist destination called the "Disneyland for quilters" that attracts 100,000+ visitors annually.

Maitab is a 29-year-old independent sponsor who acquires distressed D2C e-commerce brands and turnarounds them using operational excellence and rapid cash recovery strategies. Starting from a health issue at 17, he built several seven-figure e-commerce businesses in guitars and pedals before pivoting to private equity-style investing. His current portfolio includes three majority-owned platform companies (SoloWood Flowers, a succulent company, and an apparel brand) worth mid-eight figures in revenue, plus minority stakes in 8-10 other companies.

Brendan Schaub transitioned from UFC fighter to stand-up comedian to podcast entrepreneur. After 6 years building Showtime's podcast division from zero to 600k subscribers, he left to start Thick Boy Studios in December 2022, bringing 7 shows including 'Fighter and the Kid' and 'The Shop Show'. A year in, he's rebuilt to ~160-170k subscribers and focuses on audio metrics over YouTube vanity metrics.

Charity Water was founded by Scott Harrison in 2006 after he transitioned from being a nightclub promoter in New York to volunteering on a humanitarian hospital ship in Liberia. Witnessing the water crisis firsthand, he pivoted to solving global water poverty using an innovative nonprofit model: 100% of donations go directly to water projects while overhead is funded separately by entrepreneurs and major donors. The organization has raised $750 million, provided clean water to 16.8 million people across 22 countries, and pioneered donor engagement through birthday fundraising campaigns that have raised over $100 million.

Spazless is a proposed nonprofit Reddit alternative that would operate similarly to Reddit but as a nonprofit that funnels revenue back to communities and moderators. The idea emerged during a major Reddit protest in 2023 when 93% of subreddits went dark to protest API pricing changes that would kill third-party apps like Apollo. The domain was registered as a conceptual project to capitalize on user discontent.

Derek built a nine-figure business portfolio (Gorilla Mind supplements, Merrick Health telemedicine, Intelligent Elephant hair loss products) starting from YouTube content and affiliate marketing. Gorilla Mind alone is estimated at $6-8M monthly revenue with over 1M monthly visitors, while Merrick Health operates a subscription-based telemedicine model at $300+/month per customer. His strategy: monetize what he already uses, replace affiliate recommendations with owned products, and leverage 1.9M YouTube subscribers and influencer partnerships spanning tens of millions of followers.

Spencer Scott launched Lonestar Trash in January 2024 after getting frustrated with his neighborhood's trash collection service leaving bins scattered across lawns and ditches. He posted in a Facebook community group asking about switching providers, received 150 comments, and convinced 200 households to commit to his new service. Within 24-48 hours of launching a simple website with a referral program, he collected $15,000 in pre-sales, purchased 200 trash bins, bought a garbage truck via American Express credit line, and launched his first route.

VPN Bear Performance Nutrition is a fitness and nutrition company founded by Nick Bear, a multi-disciplinary athlete and fitness influencer with millions of followers across Instagram and YouTube. The company generates approximately $60 million in annual revenue through performance nutrition products. Nick is known for his exceptional athletic achievements, including running a marathon in 2:39 while maintaining a bodybuilder physique, combined with his rigorous approach to training, nutrition, and recovery.

Firecrown Media is a portfolio of 54+ niche magazines (aviation, boating, trains, astronomy) acquired by entrepreneur Craig Fuller starting in 2021. Fuller bought Flying Magazine for ~$3.5M and grew it from $2.5M to $7M revenue in the first year by raising prices, upgrading quality, and building engaged subscriber bases. The company now generates ~$60M in revenue with 20% margins ($12M profit) and has expanded into adjacent commerce businesses—aircraft financing, e-commerce, and a 1,500-acre aviation community development—leveraging the magazine audiences' high purchase intent.

OMG Pop was a Flash-based gaming website that struggled against competitors like Farmville, facing shutdown with only 4-5 months of runway left. Dan Porter designed Draw Something, a simple drawing and guessing game with playback functionality, as a last-ditch effort. The game exploded virally, reaching 1 million downloads in 9 days and 50 million in 50 days, ultimately being downloaded 250 million times before Zynga acquired it for $200 million just six weeks after launch.

Ann Malume founded Saladcore, a premium Pilates studio, after discovering the business model while living in LA. Starting with $150k in initial capital (licensing fee $25k, buildout $150k, financed machines ~$70k), she opened her first location in DC and generated over $100k in revenue in month one. Through rapid expansion (5 locations by end of year one), strong branding ("Create the strongest version of yourself"), and word-of-mouth growth, she scaled to 27 locations doing ~$700k each by 2017 ($19M+ annualized revenue). She sold a minority stake in 2017 at a ~$60M valuation and exited completely in April 2023 (9.5 years after launch) for approximately $350M.

Zuru is a toy manufacturing and consumer goods company founded by Nick Mowbray and his brother Matt, growing from a bootstrapped operation sleeping in bushes in China to a $2B+ revenue private company. The founders used relentless cold outreach, persistence through repeated rejection, and a focus on manufacturing excellence and automation to disrupt the toy industry and expand into FMCG categories. Today Zuru runs at ~40% net profit margins and operates globally with sophisticated automated production lines.

Brent Beshore founded Permanent Equity, a lower-middle-market private equity firm that acquires and holds small businesses for the long term. Starting with an accidental $1M SBA-financed acquisition of Media Cross (a military recruitment firm) in 2010 at age 24, he built a portfolio of 16 companies generating over $350M in annual revenue with $50M in free cash flow. His differentiated model charges no management fees, uses no debt, and takes 40% carry only on returned cash flow—the opposite of traditional PE.

Formidable Fellowship is a nonprofit founded by Anand (and friend Raj) that provides $1,000 grants to middle and high school entrepreneurs who have proven revenue. Launched with $500K in funding, they received a few hundred applications in their first round, accepted 23 grantees, and have attracted contributions from notable entrepreneurs like Mesh from HubSpot and Sean Griffey from IndustryDive. The program serves as an MVP for Anand's larger vision of building a national network of schools of entrepreneurship.